The Business of Being Janelle Monáe (at Halloween)

Janelle Monáe briefly pauses a Zoom interview with The Hollywood Reporter to get up out of a chair and allow the camera to capture a better view of an essential piece of her ensemble — a black T-shirt featuring her face and text that reads “Monáe Manor: From the Mad Mind of Janelle Monáe.”

The merch promotes a new activation at Los Angeles Haunted Hayride, a spooky maze on the grounds of Griffith Park where the 10-time Grammy Award-nominee has been spotted in recent weeks making killer cameos alongside the Hayride’s resident “scare actors,” sometimes with a chainsaw in hand. It’s just one piece of the Halloween pie that Monáe has added to her schedule in 2024 as she continues her ascent as the newest “HalloQueen” in town. And it’s all a dream come true for the native Kansan.

“I’ve dreamt of having my own haunted house experience for many, many, many nightmares,” said The Age of Pleasure singer, whose visage is featured on the walls and whose screams can be heard throughout. “The best reviews I’ve gotten are from people saying they ran out screaming.”

It’s credit to Monáe who was intimately involved in the details, said Haunted Hayride creator Melissa Carbone. “Janelle is an artist in every sense of the word and she wants input on everything,” says the entrepreneur who founded L.A. Haunted Hayride in 2009, before being acquired by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, which now runs the activation along with many others across the United States. “We turned it around really fast but it was very serendipitous, all of it.” And there’s more to come: Carbone teased plans for “the biggest Halloween project in the world” to debut next year, with Monáe likely on board for those screams as well.

Meanwhile, this month horror fans can find her as the host of AMC’s FearFest, the network’s beloved block of horror-centric programming by presenting a countdown of top titles and dishing on her childhood faves. Said Kim Granito, chief marketing officer for AMC Networks: “Janelle Monáe is a force of nature and Halloween icon whose enthusiasm for horror knows no bounds. From epic costumes and genre film performances to her very own haunted mansion — she’s the perfect host to lead fans through this massive programming event. We’re honored to call her AMC’s FearFest HalloQueen.”